Violence
marked Freddie Edun's early years. Coming to work for the Essiens saved him
from the angry young man he was and gave him focus. Now he's walking the path
of success, and partnership in Banks Security business is within reach. He
just has to seal this deal with a potential customer first. Until he meets the
client's wife, and the deal risks taking a nose dive.

Kike
Ogun married young to a man who dazzled her with his bogus charm. She’s lived
like a caged bird for many years, but with a looming milestone birthday on
the horizon, she is determined to walk a new path of self-love. If she
could just ignore the electrifying and forbidden attraction she feels towards a
younger man from the first moment they meet.

With
a devious husband who refuses to let go, she’s going to need
help—Freddie’s protection—to stay alive long enough to celebrate her upcoming
birthday. And she’s going to have to give in to her dark passion for him and
finally unleash the natural woman inside. If it's only sex, then what's love
got to do it?

This
story unravels in two instalments—this is the first part.

EXCERPT

“Did you know that your
gateman believes that God guards your house?” Freddie’s words cut into her
thoughts, drawing her attention back to him. “And therefore, he doesn’t have to
do anything more than just opening and closing the gates?”

Kike sighed. She remained
aware of the lackadaisical attitude towards security around here. As if by
being a pastor, her husband and anyone associated with him became bulletproof.

“I know. It’s part of the
reason I don’t feel safe,” she replied in a monotone voice. “Sometimes, I feel
as if I’m going to be murdered in my sleep and everybody is going to dismiss it
as the will of God.”

Freddie stopped the car just
after he went past the main gates leading out of the estate. He turned in his
seat and stared at her, eyebrows drawn together. “Do you feel that unsafe? Did
someone threaten you?”

Damn. Why had she blurted that
out? She shouldn’t have spoken those words out loud. She’d never said anything
like that to anyone before. And she certainly shouldn’t have said it to
Freddie.

She avoided eye contact, and
her gaze bounced around the car interior before settling on a spot beyond the
windscreen at the high fence surrounding the building across the road. She
clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes, counting between inhales and
exhales.

“Mrs. Ogun, is there something
I should know?”

“Look, Freddie—“” Saying his
name felt very intimate like she knew him on a personal level, which she
didn’t. He was just a man looking to provide a service to her and her family.
She needed to remember that. She avoided his searching gaze. He seemed able to
discover things she hid. Not to mention the ease with which she had confided in
him. “Forget I said that. It was nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

Cool palm covered the bare
skin on her wrist. Her pulse jumped, her skin electrified, and her breath
hitched. She turned her head so quickly that she felt woozy, the disorientation
made worse when she met his gaze.

His eyes were full of
questions, concern, and compassion. He looked at her as if he’d understood her
fears even before she’d spoken them.

What was going on with her? He
didn’t know her. Couldn’t know her. And he was never going to get the chance to
know her.

“Just drive.” She ordered,
forced herself to look away again, and tried to tug her arm free. He didn’t let
her go. She swallowed as her skin flushed.

“Kike.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Her
name on his lips was beautiful, like a plea whispered by an old lover rather
than a man she hardly knew. The low timbre vibrated through her, making her
core throb. Her skin tingled where he held her. She was certain he could feel
her racing pulse underneath his thumb.

Did he know that his restraint
excited her?

She closed her eyes and held
her breath. An image of him caging her with his body popped into her mind.

Her eyes flew open, and she
raised her palms to cover her face. So
she’d become starved of a lover’s affection in the past few years. But did she
desperately miss the touch of a man enough to forget herself? That she would
ache for the first man who inadvertently pushed her needy buttons?

“You shouldn’t call me that.”
Her breathy reprimand came out weak, more to remind herself that she was just a
client to him than to prompt him of his status.

“You can tell me anything,” he
said, his enticing voice filled with empathy. “You can trust me. What I said in
your house is true. I will protect you from any threat.”

“Okay.” Her voice croaked, and
she swallowed.

“So will you tell me what’s
going on?” he probed.

Her first impulse was to tell
him the truth. To bare her soul to him. His soothing tone felt almost magical and
inspired trust.

Breaking the habit of a
lifetime proved difficult. She’d hidden things about herself from other people
for years. When people found out things about her, all she ever got back were
judgements and criticisms. The only person who ever really understood her was
Lekan. See how that had turned out.

“Nothing is going on.” She
still didn’t meet his gaze. At least this way, he wouldn’t know she was telling
a lie.

He didn’t say anything for
several racing heartbeats.

“Okay. When you decide to talk,
I’ll be here to listen. Any time of day.” He pressed the ignition knob,
indicated, and pulled out of the junction, heading to Yomi’s school.

Kike
has struggled for years to break out of the chains of her marriage to Lekan.
After moving out of the Ogun estate, she has to cope with condemnation not just
from family and friends but from unseen followers as the story of her relationship
with Freddie becomes media fodder. She’s finally free to love a man who loves
her but is she about to lose everything else that matters to her?

Freddie
has a new family—Kike and the kids—and he has to pull out all the stops if he
is to outwit a powerful sociopathic pastor as well as and deal with ghosts from
his past that come to haunt him. He will do whatever it takes to keep the woman
he loves safe but the price might be his sanity and his life.

Lekan
is not about to give up on a woman he sees as his property and uses every
weapon in his arsenal to get Kike back, including following through on the
threats he made.

With
the odds stacked up against Kike and Freddie, is a happy future together even
possible? Will they ever be out of Lekan’s reach?

This story unravels in
two instalments—this is the second part and not a standalone.

EXCERPT

Freddie turned to Kike who stood at the still locked
front door with a contemplative expression.

“Shall I do the honours?” He stretched his hands out for
the keys.

She handed them over. “I feel as if I should cut a ribbon
or something.”

He found the right key and inserted it into the lock,
twisting until it clicked. He shoved the heavy slab inwards.

“I feel as if I should carry you over the threshold.”
Smiling, he winked at her.

She chuckled. “That would imply that we’re newly-weds.”

“A guy can dream, can’t he? Ladies, first.” He gave an
exaggerated bow and waved his hand with flourish.

“As you wish, Gentleman.” This time she winked at him.

He could swear she emphasised the word ‘Gentleman’ on
purpose which had his pulse racing and his cock hardening. Surely she didn’t
know how much the word affected his mind and body.

Groaning, he followed her indoors and discretely tried to
adjust the swelling in his jeans.

“I can help you with that.” She glanced back and tipped
her head at his groin. Oh, she definitely knew exactly what her provocative
words did to him.

“Lady,” he growled in warning. “Be careful what you wish
for. Because that sassy mouth of yours is writing a cheque your ass is going to
cash later.”

Her eyes widened but the teasing smile didn’t go away.
She batted her long dark lashes innocently. “But what did I do?”

He closed the gap between them and she moved back. “You
know exactly what you’re doing. Agreement or not, I know when someone is
begging to be spanked and I’ll be more than happy to oblige you, right here,
right now.”

Her back hit the wall as he caged her into the corner by
the stairs, his hands splayed on either side of her head. He shoved his knee
between her thighs, spreading them out.

Through her loose-fitting, merlot, linen trousers, the
heat from her crotch burned him. The pulse on her collar thumped fast and her
pink tongue darted, swiping her bottom lip. She wanted that spanking. He could
see it in her bright gaze fixed on him.

By his calculation, she hadn’t had sex in close to two
months. So she would be as ready to combust as he was. He wasn’t averse to
dishing out some sexy torture.

Grinning wolfishly, he leaned forward and brushed his
lips on her left ear lobe. “Go ahead, kitten,” he spoke low and against her
smooth skin. “Taunt me some more. Make my day. Let’s christen this house with
the cracks from my palm on your lovely behind.”

He pinched her bottom with his left hand. With his right
hand, he tugged her nipple through her pink t-shirt.

Her breath hitched and she rocked her hips, rubbing her
crotch on his knee. “Plea—”

“Oga Freddie,” one of the moving men interrupted her.

“Hold on, I’m coming.” Freddie replied as he pulled away
from Kike.

Her head was tilted back, exposing her neck. Eyes closed
and mouth open as she panted, she looked partially debauched. Sensually
corrupted was a state he wanted to see her in often in this house. She’d been
ready to plead for something. He looked forward to a time when they could
explore their connection uninterrupted.

“Welcome to your new home, kitten.” He pressed his lips
to her forehead and left her to tidy up as he went to deal with the movers.

As
a lover of romance novels, Kiru wanted to read stories about Africans falling
in love. When she couldn’t find those books, she decided to write the stories
she wanted to read.

Kiru
writes passionate romance and sensual erotica stories featuring African
characters whether on the continent or in the Diaspora. When she's not writing you can find her
either immersed in a good book or catching up with friends and family. She
currently lives in the South of England with her husband and three children.

Kiru
is a founding member of Romance Writers of West Africa. In 2011, her debut
romance novella, His Treasure, won the Book of the Year at the Love Romances
Café Awards. She is the 2015 Romance Writer of the Year at the Nigerian Writers
Awards.

On July 27, 2016, Cory Stierley sent a group text to me and our mutual friend Erin, a painter, completely ticked off about seeing a guy running. Since I don’t normally get upset about seeing people run—and neither do Cory or Erin—I thought this was odd behavior.

Cory: “Ok, this is common from me but I’m kinda pissed off right now!!!”

Me: “Let it out”

Erin: “…go on”

Cory is a professional photographer who has taken the cover photographs for half of my published books, in addition to other New York Times bestsellers. He loves color and celebrating bodies. He has an eye for beauty and a knack for getting amazingly creative shots.

Cory's text: “So, I was getting off the highway and I happen to see this dude running, red tank top with white edges, black and white shorts. He was running on a path next to a green field, so of course it stuck out to me. I had to go slow past him cuz the speed limit and the turn I was making. He immediately hit me as your next cover model.”

Me: “And why are you pissed about this”

Because why would anyone be mad about seeing a guy running in a park? Right?

But Cory was so upset because this was the one who got away. A muse, an inspiration. Marching orders from the creative universe to actually make something.

And his potential subject was gone.

Cory was adamant. “He NEEDS to model. … Leslie, I’m not lying when I say he is your IDEAL dude/model.”

He was right.

In an attempt to find the guy, Cory placed a “missed connections” ad on Craigslist, but was discouraged because of the slim-to-none chances that someone would see the ad and know the identity of the runner.

I tried to reassure him: “Well he’ll find you. And you’ll take his pic. And I’ll buy it. That’s all. Done. … This is the part where I expose to you all what a mystical weirdo I am. But that’s what happens. You’ll find him. .. Or he’ll find you. That’s the way the universe works. … Relax you’ll find him.”

(And then Erin and I discussed tattoos for a while. <3 Sigh.)

The next day, Cory went back to the same park at about the same time and hung around.

No dude.

The following day, Cory woke up and got the idea to stop by a local gym. Cory walked in and was relieved to see that there was a younger girl behind the counter. (He was grateful that it was a younger chick, thinking that a story like this wouldn't weird her out so much, and that she would help.) He went up to her and started describing the guy he saw running.

She got a knowing look on her face like, I know who you’re talking about. Reinstalling Instagram on her phone, she pulled up a profile.

And it was the guy!

Named Taylor.

So Cory had FOUND THE GUY despite nearly zero odds.

Looking at his profile, we were not only struck by handsome Taylor’s looks but also his incredible attitude. Nearly all of his posts were positive quotes and affirmations. There was just an amazing spirit about every single thing he did.

We all felt a sense of relief that Cory had found the guy, and both he and I direct messaged him on Instagram. (Cory made me redo my original message because he thought it sounded too stalkery.)

And we were relieved when he responded.

We found out the following. (1) He’d been wanting to model, and encouraged to do so by family and friends his whole life, but didn’t know how to go about it, and (2) this was his second day doing cardio in three years, since he had gotten out of the Army. But this was the first day, at the last second, he had decided to run a different route. If he would have gone the other way, Cory wouldn't have seen him.

You can draw your own conclusions to this story. My conclusion is that some things are meant to be. Taylor was meant to model and Cory was meant to find him.

And now, not only did Cory find him, they took the pic, I bought it, and he’s on my cover, but the fact that he served in Afghanistan provided me with a muse for this story.

About the Author

Leslie McAdam is a California girl who loves romance, Little Dude, and well-defined abs. She lives in a drafty old farmhouse on a small orange tree farm in Southern California with her husband and two small children. Leslie always encourages her kids to be themselves – even if it means letting her daughter wear leopard print from head to toe. An avid reader from a young age, she will always trade watching TV for reading a book, unless it’s Top Gear. Or football. Leslie is employed by day but spends her nights writing about the men you fantasize about. She’s unapologetically sarcastic and notoriously terrible at comma placement (that’s what editors are for!). Always up for a laugh, Leslie tries to see humor in all things. When she’s not in the writing cave you’ll find her fangirling over Beck, camping with her family, or mixing up oil paints to depict her love of outdoors on canvas.

Avery believes in flirting and flings, not relationships. But when she returns to Bridgewater for her sister's Christmas-time wedding, two hot cowboys try to change her mind about the one "f" word she avoids: fiancés.
Warning: Panty melting! Kiss Me Crazy is the LAST book in the wildly dirty series where one cowboy is never enough.

This standalone HEA is all about her - no M/M.

About the Author:

Vanessa Vale is the USA Today Bestselling author of over 30 books, sexy romance novels, including her popular Bridgewater historical romance series and hot contemporary romances featuring unapologetic bad boys who don’t just fall in love, they fall hard. When she’s not writing, Vanessa savors the insanity of raising two boys, is figuring out how many meals she can make with a pressure cooker, and teaches a pretty mean karate class. While she’s not as skilled at social media as her kids, she loves to interact with readers.

When there’s no one left to trust, should you try trusting a stranger?
Someone is watching Emmeline, and for the first time, she feels seen.

Emmeline Weiss is living a dream life—or so it appears. She comes from a wealthy, influential family, has a blossoming career, and a sophisticated fiancé. Lost in the fray, and on the brink of forgetting who she really is, Emmeline needs a few weeks of sand and saltwater: a break for once. But her search for clarity—and her true self—turns up a smart, sexy stranger instead, ONE who sees her soul and awakens her body, giving her everything she never knew she wanted. When Emmeline learns her charmed life in Chicago has been a setup, her soul-searching trip to the shores takes a dark turn. Someone is watching her. Caught between fear, and an exciting new desire to push away her inhibitions, whom can she trust?

Alicia Maxwell has been an avid reader her whole life. Through the years, she’s enjoyed many genres and authors, from classics, like War and Peace, to modern-day romances. Her latest passion is writing.

As a resident of South Florida, she finds inspiration in the fast-paced, urban lifestyle, proximity to the ocean, and the year-round warm weather.

Her days are filled with reading, writing, and caring for her family—two children, and a husband, who also happens to be her biggest supporter and best friend.

Her two-book literary debut will be self-published in 2017. Look for them, read them, and leave a review. Your feedback and opinions matter and are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance to each and every one of you!

I’ve been drowning for a long time. I never thought I’d find someone who knows what that’s like…

Self-proclaimed playboy, Aiden Vale, has it all – good looks, successful career, plenty of cash in the bank and an endless supply of men who know the score… that one night is just that. So the last thing he wants, or needs, is to forge a connection that might mean revealing more of himself than he’s ready to. But when fate intervenes, putting Aiden in the path of someone who threatens to knock down his carefully constructed walls, he’s quick to realize the young man he’s become infatuated with is hiding a painful secret.

I finally have a shot at freedom. I’ll never let anyone take that from me ever again…

Ash Valentine is just looking for a way out, and the last thing he wants or needs is another man controlling every aspect of his life. Desperate for the cash that will help him flee his abusive boyfriend, Ash accepts what is supposed to be a temporary job at a local coffee shop. But nothing prepares him for the gorgeous and enigmatic Aiden Vale, and the small acts of kindness the charming coffee shop regular bestows on him or the new friends he begins to make along the way.

Terrified of once again becoming too reliant on someone else to take care of him, Ash refuses Aiden’s repeated offers of help in any form. But when it becomes clear that there’s something more behind Aiden’s need to save him, Ash begins to wonder if he’s found someone who needs saving just as badly.

I know he wants to save me, but what if he’s the one who needs saving…

As their tentative friendship turns into something more, long buried secrets begin to surface. When Aiden’s need to protect Ash clashes with the younger man’s desire for independence, memories of the one he couldn’t save begin to tear at the fragile cords of Aiden’s soul, and he’s forced to face a truth he’s been hiding from for a long time.

Threatened with losing what they’ve only just found, will Aiden and Ash find a way to accept their pasts or will they let the pain drag them below the surface for good?

The sound of a dish breaking had me glancing up from my phone. Nearly every single person in the Star-Trek themed coffee shop looked up from their own phones or computers and stared at the young man behind the counter who was standing in shocked silence as he stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly as his eyes shifted to the barista and only other person working behind the counter, Emily. The young man looked absolutely horrified, and even though I wasn’t close enough to see his face, I could feel the tension rolling off him in waves as he stood there.

Waiting.

For what, I didn’t know.

But as the other patrons went back to what they were doing, I kept my eyes on him. He, in turn, kept his eyes on Emily who seemed unfazed because she was busily stirring a drink and then putting the top on it.

“It’s okay, honey,” she said. There wasn’t even a speck of anger or frustration in her voice.

“I’m sorry,” the guy repeated and then he jerked his head around as if looking for something. It wasn’t until he’d done a complete scan of the shop that he seemed to relax a little. Even from where I stood, I could see color flooding his cheeks. My insides clenched when his eyes fell on me.

I expected him to keep scanning the shop, or, at the very least, drop to his feet to clean up whatever had gotten dropped, but he didn’t move and he didn’t look away from me. I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were, but I could see that he had dark hair, darker than my own brown hair, and a lean build. I guessed him to be at least several years younger than me, which put him in his early to mid-twenties at best. My reaction to him was instantaneous and unexpected.

No, there was absolutely nothing unexpected about the fact that I was attracted to him. He was beautiful. I could tell that even from where I stood. The unexpected part was what came along with the attraction.

It was a feeling I hadn’t had in a really long time… not since I’d met Bennett so many years ago when he’d been a baby-faced freshman and I’d been the beleaguered sophomore who hadn’t been able to decide if I wanted to fuck my cute new dorm neighbor or become his best friend.

I’d done both.

The fucking hadn’t lasted long, but my need to protect Bennett’s sweet nature from the harshness of the world had been as strong then as it was now.

But that had nothing on what I wanted to do for the young man currently staring at me like I was some kind of lifeline for him. I managed a quick smile and nodded at him. The move seemed to shake him from his thoughts, and he quickly jerked his eyes away and dropped to the floor. He appeared a moment later with several pieces of a broken plate in his hand along with large chunks of a scone. He pitched them into a large garbage bin behind him and then mumbled yet another apology to the older man standing on the other side of the cash register. I couldn’t see or hear the customer’s response, but when the young man frowned and discretely wiped at his eyes as he went to get another scone from the pastry display, I barely managed to keep from striding to the front of the line and kicking the customer’s ass.

As things returned to normal, and the young man continued to ring up customers, I kept watching him. He was definitely flustered, and I had a strong suspicion it was his first day on the job. I’d been coming to Beam Me Up Latte long enough to know all the employees, and I most certainly would have remembered him. When I finally reached the cash register, I was practically teaming with excitement. I’d already heard the soft lilt to his voice as he’d helped the people directly in front of me, but it had been hard to get a good look at him since there’d been a tall, portly man in front of the line.

The first thing I noticed when he looked up at me was his eyes.

They were breathtaking.

Yeah, I was waxing poetic a bit, but I’d truly never seen such a striking shade of blue. Pale and almost silver in color in the middle surrounded by a dark, stormy gray.

“Um, what can I get you?” he asked, his voice a bit uneven. He quickly dropped his pretty eyes, but then lifted them again, though the move seemed forced.

As though looking someone in the eye took effort.

I wondered why.

“Here’s his, honey,” Emily said as she set my drink on the counter next to the cash register. “Large Americano, no room,” she explained. To me she said, “You’re late today. Hot date last night?”

I barely registered what she was saying to me because my attention was on the young man carefully punching the buttons on the tablet in front of him. His intense look of concentration was intriguing, and I absently wondered if he gave that much focus to everything he did. I also didn’t miss the fact that he was wearing some kind of brace on his left wrist.

“Nah,” I managed to say. “You never showed up.”

Emily chuckled and shook her head. “You couldn’t handle me,” she shot back and then her hand settled on the young man’s arm. He immediately jumped and stepped away from her, before seeming to catch himself.

“It’s this one, right?” he asked as he pointed to something on the screen.

Emily, for her part, glossed over his odd reaction and nodded. She cast me a glance but didn’t say anything else.

“Jenny finally move on to bigger and better things?” I teased.

Emily shook her head. “That girl,” she said with a sigh. “She up and decides she’s going backpacking for three months in Nepal with her boyfriend. Left me high and dry until Ashton here,”— she almost reached out to touch the young man again, but thought better of it before making contact and pulled her hand back— “rode in on his horse and saved the day. Hired him just yesterday so he’s kind of getting a crash course… go easy on him.” There was a hint of an actual warning in her voice, and I had to wonder if she’d somehow sensed the same thing about the young man that I had… that whatever was behind those pretty eyes of his wasn’t just the stress of starting a new job.

“Ashton, this is Mr. Vale,” Emily began.

“Aiden,” I interjected, ignoring the look Emily sent my way.

“Aiden,” Emily finally conceded. “Aiden, this is Ashton.”

Ashton didn’t look up at me as he mumbled a greeting that I couldn’t quite make out.

“You good?” Emily asked Ashton.

He nodded. “Yeah, sorry,” he murmured. His eyes shifted to me as he told me the cost of my drink and Emily went back to working on drinks.

I was in the process of handing over a five-dollar bill when Ashton suddenly spun the tablet around, presumably because he thought I wanted to swipe a credit card through the reader on the tablet like the majority of customers did. I automatically jerked back when it nearly hit my knuckles.

“Oh god, I’m sorry,” he said, flipping the tablet around again as if that would somehow undo the previous action. This time, the tablet did hit me, but it wasn’t hard enough to do much more than leave a little sting behind.

But from Ashton’s reaction, I might as well have lost a finger.

“I’m sorry,” he squeaked as he took a step back.

“It’s fine. Nothing a quadruple knuckle amputation won’t fix right up,” I said with a wink in the hopes the move would put him at ease. I made a big production out of offering the five-dollar bill again, only this time extending my hand high above the tablet as if the device was an open wood chipper. But the attempted humor seemed to have no effect on him because he’d gone pale again. He glanced at Emily briefly before taking the money from me.

“I’ll… I’ll get your change,” he stammered.

“Keep it,” I said, hoping like hell he’d look up at me. I had no fucking clue why it was so important that he did.

He didn’t.

“Hey, Ashton?”

He stilled in the process of putting the money in the cash register and lifted his gaze. He looked like he was standing in front of a firing squad.

“It’s fine,” I said as I held up my hand to show him. “See,” I added as I quickly separated my fingers so I was doing Spock’s famous hand gesture. “Live long and prosper.”

Ashton’s eyes widened for a brief moment before a small smile graced his mouth.

It was the highlight of my fucking day.

A day that hadn’t technically even started yet.

I forced myself to turn away from him, grabbing my drink as I did.

“Mr. Vale?”

His voice sent shivers up my spine. I turned around.

“May the force be with you,” he said, a twinkle of mirth in his eyes.

“It’s Aiden,” I reminded him. I leaned across the counter just a little so only he could hear me. “And I’ll tell you everything that’s wrong with that statement tomorrow.” It wasn’t until I’d turned again and started walking away that I heard his whispered response. A response that immediately became the new highlight of my day.

“I look forward to it.”

Start the series Now.

BOOK #1 IN THE Twist of Fate SERIES.

Lost& Found

SYNOPSIS

He promised to never leave me. But when I needed him the most, that was exactly what he did...

From Bestselling Authors Sloane Kennedy & Lucy Lennox comes an exciting new series about how a twist of fate can change everything...

He promised to never leave me. But when I needed him the most, that was exactly what he did...

Wilderness guide Xander Reed has spent fifteen years trying to forget the night he turned to his best friend in his darkest hour, only to find the young man who'd sworn to always have his back was turning his on Xander instead. Two thousand miles and fifteen years of building a new life in the quiet backcountry of the Rocky Mountains should have been enough to put the memory of Bennett Crawford out of his mind forever, but old wounds run deep and when Bennett suddenly reappears in his life as part of a wilderness expedition Xander is guiding, the scars he thought long healed break wide open.

I'd only ever wanted to protect Xander from getting hurt again. I never considered the one he needed protection from was me...

Bennett Crawford was faced with an impossible choice the night his best friend needed him.

He chose wrong.

As the only son of one of the wealthiest families in New England, he should have had the world at his feet, but losing his best friend at the tender age of fourteen changed everything. And even though Bennett's managed to hide behind a mask of contentment as he takes his place at his father's side in the family business, inside he's searching for the piece of himself that's been missing ever since Xander Reed walked out of his life. Bennett's only saving grace is his work with a group of inner city kids, and when he's given the chance to show the troubled teens that there's a bigger world out there waiting for them if they just have the courage to reach for it, he takes it.

But when he steps off that bus for what was supposed to be a week of fun and adventure, he's instantly returned to the past when he discovers their expedition guide is none other than the boy he let go so long ago. Only, the soft-hearted, insecure little boy Bennett once knew is gone, and in his place is a brooding, bitter man who isn't interested in second chances.

People leave. I know that now and nothing Bennett has to say to me will change anything...

All Bennett wants is another chance to show Xander that friendship was only the beginning. But when a stubborn Xander refuses to even hear him out, Bennett realizes he's going to need to fight dirty.

Because now that he's found Xander again, he's not letting him go a second time...

After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sassy heroines and sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

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Although Sloane Kennedy always dreamed of being a writer as a teenager, she didn't take the plunge until March of 2015 when she released her first novel as an independent author. Since then, she has released more than a dozen books including the Amazon best-selling "Barretti Security" series, "Finding" series and "Protectors" series. While she initially began writing M/F romance, she found her true passion writing gay romance and all four of her most recent releases reached the #1 spot on Amazon's Gay Romance bestseller list and Freeing Zane, her final book in the Barretti Security series, made it to Amazon's overall bestseller list. Sloane was born in Germany and grew up in Virginia and Wisconsin. Although she currently lives in Wisconsin, the place where she has always felt most at home is Seattle and many of her books take place in the Emerald city. Although she is unmarried, a menagerie of 2 dogs and 3 cats keeps her busy enough and 3 young nieces take care of the rest of her free time. Sloane loves being able to share her passion for romance with readers and she is truly humbled by all the support she's received from fans and fellow authors alike.